Kristoffersson wins on debut in RX2e in Belgium

Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinksy shines and moves closer in battle for RX2e title

Johan Kristoffersson finished on top of the podium on his FIA RX2e Championship debut in Belgium on August 6, while Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky shone and Anton Marklund took a giant step towards a fourth FIA European Rallycross Championship crown.

With the queen category of the FIA World Rallycross Championship unable to take place in Mettet due to the investigation into the cause of the fire at Lydden Hill two weeks ago, Kristoffersson and his colleagues Timmy Hansen, Kevin Hansen and Ole Christian Veiby took the opportunity to join the starting grid of the RX2e Championship.

It was the youngest of the Hansen brothers, Kevin, who first set the pace, but as usual, it didn’t take long for Kristoffersson to make his mark, with three consecutive heat wins propelling him to the top of the intermediate standings.

The five-time world champion got off to a slow start in the semi-final, which dropped him back to third place, but he was given a second chance when the race was interrupted by a red flag following a spectacular rollover by Veiby, his Kristoffersson Motorsport teammate. He didn’t let the opportunity pass him by, and from then on he never trailed again, overcoming suspension damage caused by contact in the first corner of the final to fend off his pursuers all the way to the chequered flag.

“What a weekend!” enthused Kristoffersson. “In terms of pace, it was perhaps the best we’ve done since the start of the year. I’d already tested the RX2e car, but it’s very different in a race situation and the finale wasn’t easy at all.”

“After the crash in the first corner, I felt that something had broken at the left rear. The car was going in all directions and I was just trying to hold on so as not to spin out on the straight! I managed to figure out how to drive and maintain a reasonable pace, and I’m obviously delighted to walk away with the win. It was the dream result.”

Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky rounded off her season in style with second place, which, in Kristoffersson’s absence, brings her to within two points of her E team-mate Nils Andersson in the race for the RX2e crown. Ole Henry Steinsholt finished ahead of her on the road, but received a 12-second penalty for contact. Timmy Hansen retired on the final lap, while a penalty ended Kevin Hansen’s run in the semi-finals.

In the Euro RX1 battle, defending champion Anton Marklund belatedly opened his win tally for the year, although he too faced alternator-type difficulties in the final. With all three of the Swede’s rivals – Enzo Ide, Jānis Baumanis and Patrick O’Donovan – eliminated in the semi-finals, Marklund now holds a 20-point lead at the top of the standings, with just 23 still up for grabs in Estering, Germany, in two weeks’ time.

Veteran Ulrik Linnemann put in a classy performance to claim second place, while Tamás Kárai took third place on the podium for the second time this year.

Full results for both categories here: www.fiaworldrallycross.com